Venetian blind structure



Aug. 30 1966' F. VECCHIARELLI ETAL 3,269,453

VENETIAN BLIND STRUCTURE 3 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Oct. 17, 1962 INVENTORS FRANClS VECCHIARELLI CORNELL E. KOPSCO lwreuap flak/1 Aug. 30, 1966 F. VECCHIARELLI ETAL VENETIAN BLIND STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 17, 1962 INVENTOR5 FRANCIS VECCHIARELLI CORNELL E. KOPSCO Zawump ?MF4/ United States Patent VENETIAN BLIND STRUCTURE Francis Vecchiarelli, River Edge, NIL, and Corneil E.

Kopsco, Fairfield, (Iona, assignors, by mesne assignments, to Alcan Aluminum Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Get. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 231,083 5 Claims. (Cl. 160-176) This invention rel-ates to Venetian blind structures and more particularly to a snap-in assembly for use in Venetian blind structures having the capabilities of controlling tilting of the Venetian blind tape ladder structure, as well as the raising and lowering operations of the Venetian blind structure.

Venetian blind assemblies finding wide spread use in present day installations, normally consist of a complex all metallic housing and operating mechanism for controlling the tilting of the individual Venetian blind slats and for the raising and lowering of the Venetian blind assembly.

Structures of the general type employed in commercial installation are not normally standardized but are more in the nature of a custom made construction. This means that a complex fabrication operation is required to produce a Venetian blind assembly each time a new Venetian blind is required, due to the fact that window dimensions being non-uniform in both commercial and industrial applications. The metallic enclosure which houses the Venetian blind operating mechanism must be mechanically altered so as to accommodate the ladder holding mechanisms, depending upon how close or how far apart such operating mechanism are placed within the housing. The construction involves cutting and/or punching of the housing and preparation of an operating mechanism for the Venetian blind which is suitable for the particular installation. These arrangements prevent the adoption of a uniform Venetian blind operating mechanism which may be mass produced and which may be very simply modified in order to accommodate any installation whatsoever.

Also, due to the relatively large dimensions that present day Venetian blind head portions require, space limitations therefore may limit installation of such Venetian blind assemblies.

The device of the instant invention is so designed as to permit its installation in limited space areas in a very rapid straightforward manner, while at the same time providing safe reliable operation. The devices further lend themselves to windows of any width dimensions thereby enabling substantially all of the components which comprise a Venetian blind operating mechanism to be mass produced since all such components will readily lend themselves to a wide scope of installations having varying dimensions.

The device of the instant invention is comprised of a snap-in assembly which is adapted to be simply and easily positioned into a head rail provided to house the snap-in assembly.

The snap-in assembly is comprised of a first member having suitable passageways for receiving the Venetian blind ladder and the lift cord so as to readily accommodate Venetian blind structures. A second rotatable member is positioned within the first relatively stationary member for movement therein under control of a tilting mechanism, The rotatable member has suitable provision for securing the Venetian blind ladder therein and for permitting safe reliable control of the ladder structure when the Venetian blind structure is tilted under control of the tilt mechanism.

The rotatable member is readily inserted and/or removed from the stationary member so as to permit a more rapid installation of the Venetian blind structure. The snap-in feature of the stationary member permits the snap-in assemblies to be positioned at any predetermined distance away from the next snap-in assembly, thereby readily lending itself to use in any width window in which the installation is to be employed.

Further provision is made in the stationary member for receiving and guiding the Venetian blind assembly lift cord so as to provide safe reliable lifting and lowering action of the Venetian blind assembly. The entire mechanism being comprised of only two basic elements better fitting than prior art Venetian blind structures and provides a more reliable useful operating life.

The tilt rod mechanism for operating the snap-in Venetian blind assembly is also adapted to operate as a snap-in assembly and cooperates with the head rail extrusion in a manner analogous to that of the snap-in assembly for supporting the Venetian blind string tape ladder. The snap-in tilt mechanism is comprised of a pulley means for receiving the tilt control cord, which roller assembly, or pulley, operates a worm which cooperates with a worm gear to control rotary action of the snap-in assembly tilt rod member. As is the case with the snap-in assemblies for the ladder, the tilter 'assembsy may be positioned anywhere along the length of the head rail extrusion and is not limited as to its application in the over-all assembly.

It is therefore one object of this invention to provide snap-in assemblies of Venetian blind structures which are so constructed as to enable their use in Venetian blind structures of varying dimensions.

Another object of this invention is to provide a snapin assembly for Venetian blind structures which are so constructed as to permit extremely rapid installation thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a snapin assembly for Venetian blind structures which is so designed as to produce a more compact installation for the Venetian blind operating mechanism.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a snap-in assembly for Venetian blind structures, having a novel construction for accommodating both Venetian blind tape ladders and lift cords so as to provide safe reliable operation thereof.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a snap-in assembly for Venetian blind structures which are so constructed as to permit relatively easy and rapid assembly and disassembly thereof, thereby enabling Venetian blind installations to be performed in a relatively safe-easy manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tilter mechanism for Venetian blind assemblies having a novel arrangement for controlling rotation of the Venetian blind assembly tilt rod.

Another object of this invention is to provide a snap-in tilter assembly for Venetian blind structures having a mechanical worm gear arrangement for controlling the Venetian blind assembly tilt rod member.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a tilter mechanism for Venetian blind structures which is so adapted as to be positionable into an inverted head rail extrusion at any point along the length of the head rail thereby facilitating the design of Venetian blind structures.

These and other objects will become apparent when considering the accompanying description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the snap-in assembly showing the inner-connection thereof with the Venetian blind assembly.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the snap-in assembly showing an assembly in an exploded view.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the snap-in assembly roller member showing the detail thereof.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the snap-in assembly showing the bottom portion thereof.

FIGURE 5 is a schematic plan view showing of a substantially complete Venetian blind assembly incorporatingthe principles of the instant invention.

' FIGURE 6 is a side plan view showing the tilter mech- ,anism of the instant invention.

FIGURE 6a is a side plan view showing an alternative embodiment of the tilter mechanism of FIGURE 6.

FIGURES 7a and 7b are perspective views of alternative embodiments for the inverted head rail extrusion shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the snap-in assembly of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 8a shows a view of the underside of the ladder assembly of FIGURE 8.

FIGURES 8b and 8c are end views respectively of modifications of the snap-in assembly of FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 9 is an end view of a snap-in assembly of the type shown in FIGURE 8 incorporated in an inverted head rail extrusion of an alternative design from those shown in FIGURES 1, 7a and 7b.

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the snap-in assembly housing of FIGURES 1 through 4.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE 1, the invention is employed in a Venetian blind assembly 100, having a head rail housing 50 for housing the Venetian blind operating mechanism. As is normally the case, the housing 50 is positioned within the window casing adjacent the window, and along the horizontal top surface thereof, with or without the use of mounting brackets. The housing 50 has a substantially U-shaped configuration and is provided with first and second pairs of flanges 60 and 70 respectively for positioning and seating the snap-in assemblies of the instant invention. The pairs of flanges 60 and 70 extend the entire length of the housing 50, enabling the snap-in assemblies to be positioned at any point along the length of the housing in a manner to be more fully described.

The snap-in assembly 10 is comprised of a relatively stationary base mmeber 11, having a substantially rectangular configuration, which base member 11 is provided with a pair of notches 13, running the entire length of the front and rear sides 11a and 11b respectively of the base member 11, wherein notches 13 are adapted to be seated upon either one of the two flange pairs 60 or 70. The front and rear sides 11a and 11b respectively are tapered so that in moving the base member 11 in the direction shown by arrows 51 so as to be seated in the housing 50, the tapered sides 11a and 11b serve as guides for enabling the base member 11 to be very easily wedged between the flange pair, such as the flange pair 70, for example, until the notches 13 move to a position immediately above the flanges 70, at which time, if the base member is released, the base member 11 will be firmly positioned and secured by the flanges 70 of the housing 50. Since the flanges run the entire length of the housing 50, it should be understood that the snap-in assembly base member 11 may be positioned at any point along the length of the housing 50.

The base member 11 is provided with a cavity 11c, having first and second slots 12 and 12' at its opposite ends, wherein said cavity 110 and said slots 12 and 12' are provided for receiving the snap-in assembly roller member 20. The lower ends of slots 12 and 12' are provided with a substantially circular configuration 12a (see FIGURES 2 and 4), which are adapted to receive the ends, such as the end 21 of the roller member 20, enabling roller member to experience rotation along its 4 central axis 28, when seated in the cavity 11c of base member 11. The edges 12b and and 12b of the notches 12 and 12' respectively are tapered in the direction of their circular lower portions 12a and 12a so as to facilitate the insertion of the roller member 20.

As shown in FIGURE 2 with the roller member 20 in the position of FIGURE 2 moved in the direction of arrows 52 towards the base member 11, the end portions 21 thereof are wedged between the tapered sides 12b-12c and 12b'12c' of the slots 12 and 12' respectively, until the end portions 21 thereof are positioned within the circular portions 12a and 12a of the base memher 11. The dimensions of the circular portions 12a and 12a are such as to permit rotation of the roller member 20 when properly seated in base member 11.

The snap-in assembly 10 is adapted to support a ladder arrangement 40 which is provided for the purpose of positioning and securing the individual slats of the Venetian blind assembly, such as, for example, the slat 71 shown in dotted fashion in FIGURE 1. While FIGURES 1 and 4 show a ladder assembly formed of string-like members, it should be noted that the snap-in assemblies of the instant invention work equally well with tape ladder assemblies, such as, for example, the tape ladder assembly shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawings. In order to provide for simple and reliable installation of the ladder assembly 40, the base member 11, as shown in FIG- URE 4 is provided with first and second elongated slots 16 and 17, in its base portion lie. The slots 16 and 17 are spaced from one another a distance vsuflicient to support the ladder assembly 41 with the vertical members, of the ladder assembly, being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of each individual slat such as the slat 71 in order to properly support the slat on the horizontal cross members 41. After passing the upper ends of the ladder assembly 49 through the slots 16 and 17, the ladder assembly 40 is moved still further in the direction shown by arrows 54 of FIGURE 2 so that the upper ends 43 and 44 straddle the snap-in roller member 2t The ladder assembly 40 is provided with metal clips 42-42 which are positioned near the upper ends 43 and 44 respectively of the ladder assembly. While FIGURE 3 shows one method of securing the string members 43 to the roller member 20, securement of the ladder 40 is in no way limited to this method and as an alternative arrangement the uppermost ends of the string mem- 'bers 43 may be tied together to form a suitable knot, such as is shown in FIGURE 1, in order to suitably secure the string members 43 to the roller 20. As a further alternative, the upper ends of the string members may be joined to form a knot in the manner shown in FIGURE 1 and clips of the type shown as clips 42 in FIGURE 3 may be also employed in order to maintain the position of the string members 43 relative to the slots 23 and 24 provided in the roller member 20. With this arrangement the clips 42' need not be rigidly secured to string members 43 but may be loosely fit thereto.

The roller member 20 is a substantially hollow drum which is provided with an elongated opening 22 wherein the length of the opening is substantially parallel to the central axis 28 of the roller. The first and second notches 23 and 24 are provided on opposite sides of the opening 22 and are designed to receive the upper ends 43 and 44 respectively of the ladder assembly in a manner to be more fully described. In order to properly fasten the ladder assembly to the snap-in assembly, the roller 20 is moved into engagement with the base member 11, such that the opening 22 faces upward in the manner shown in FIGURES l and 2. The upper end-s 43 and 44 of the ladder assembly 40 are then positioned so as to straddle the roller member 20 in the manner shown in FIGURE 3. In this position the portion of the upper end 43, immediately below the metal clip 42' is inserted in the notch 23 of the roller member 20. The dimensions of the metal clip 42 are such that it has a circumference substantially greater than the dimensions of the notch 23, thereby preventing the metal clip 42' to pass through notch 23. Metal clip 42' is further adapted to be rigidly secured to the upper end 43 of the ladder assembly so that when the clip 42' bears against the inside surface of notch 23:, the right-hand vertical member of the ladder assembly is sturdily restrained from moving out of engagement with the roller member 2%.

In a like manner the upper end 4 5 of ladder assembly 40 is positioned within notch 24 of opening 22 so that the metal clip 42 is positioned so as to bear against the inside surface of notch 24- in a manner identical to that described with respect to metal clip 42. In this manner, the ladder assembly 40 is rigidly positioned and secured to the snap-in assembly 19.

In order to provide the necessary tilt action inherent in Venetian blind assemblies, the roller member which has previously been described as being a substantially hollow member, has an opening provided at each end thereof, only one of which is shown as can be seen in FIGURES 1-4, wherein the end 21 is provided with an opening 21a. It should be understood that the opening at the opposite end is identical thereto. The configuration of the opening 21a is substantially rectangular so as to receive a tilt rod 30, such as that shown in FIGURE 1.

The tilt rod 3% is a substantially elongated rod, having a rectangular cross section and which is insertable through the opening 21a of the roller member 29. Since the configuration of opening 21a is substantially identical to the cross section configuration of rod 30, any rotation experienced by tilt rod 39 is directly imparted to the roller member 20. The tilt rod 39, which may be of any prior art construction, is designed so as to rotate about its own longitudinal axis 3% in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction, such as shown by the arrows 34. The dimensions of the roller member 20 are such that its own longitudinal axis 28 is colinear with the longitudinal axis 36a of tilt rod 36, so that roller 20 undergoes the same rotation as that experienced by tilt rod 30. The driving mechanism of tilt rod 36 may be of any well known prior art construction, and its mechanical arrangement plays no part in the instant invention. The only requirement for the tilt rod is that it have a cross section adapted to suitably engage the roller members 20, and that it be supported at its ends by any well-known rotational supports, so that it may rotate about its own longitudinal axis 30a. The length and cross sectional uniformity of the tilt rod 31 is such that the roller member 20 of the snap-in assembly 10 may be positioned at any point along tilt rod 3G without having any effect whatsoever upon the operation of the Venetian blind assembly. Although tilt rod 39 is shown to have a substantially square cross-section it should be noted that any polygonal cross-section would be equally advantageous. Some examples are: triangular, rectangular, pentagonal or hexagonal cross-sections. The opening 21a would then be provided with a similar polygonal shaped opening.

In order to retain the snap-in assembly 10 in a predetermined position along the length of the tilt rod 39, a speed nut 98 is provided on tilt rod 39 adjacent both sides of the assembly 10 (FIGURE 1 shows only one speed nut). The speed nut 98 is provided with an opening 99 for receiving rod 30. Two flanges 98a and 98!) extend towards the open 98 to frictionally engage the rod 30 to lock the snap-in assembly into any selected position along the length of tilt rod 30. Each snap-in assembly of the Venetian blind structure may be retained in a similar manner.

With the rotation of tilt rod 30 in the counterclockwise direction, for example, the rotation of tilt rod 30 is imparted to roller member 20, causing the left-hand vertical member 46 of the ladder assembly to move vertically upward in the direction shown by arrow 48, while the right-hand member 47 of ladder assembly 46 moves vertically downward in the direction shown by arrow 49. This movement causes the cross members 41 of ladder assembly 40 to change their orientation, thereby causing the slats; such as the slat 71, for example, being supported by the ladder assembly to be suitably tilted to any angle desired by the user. Since most Venetian blind structures require at least one pair of ladder assemblies for suitably supporting the Venetian blind slats, it should be understood that although FIGURE 1 shows only one snap-in assembly, that a second may be provided for suitably positioning a second ladder assembly wherein the second snap-in assembly may be spaced at any predetermined distance from the first snap-in assembly, due to the uniformity of the tilt rod 30, the uniformity of the holding flanges 6t and 7t), and the flexibility of the snap-in assemblies 10.

FIGURE 6 shows the tilter mechanism 2% of the instant invention, which mechanism is readily adaptable for use with the snap-in assemblies shown in FIGURES 1- 4 of the application. The tilter mechnism 20% is shown positioned in an inverted head rail 2l1 having upturned flanges 202 and 263 at its lower ends. The tilter mechanism proper is comprised of a substantially U-shaped supporting member 2113, which supporting member or frame is provided with downwardly extending arms 204 and 2%. The arms 21M and 205 are flanged outwardly at their ends 204a and 2tl5a, respectively so as to be positionable to rest upon the inner surfaces of upwardly turned flanges 202 and 293, respectively. The arms 204 and 265 of frame member 2% are provided with suitable openings (not shown) for receiving a rotatably mounted rod or shaft 2%. The shaft 206 is mounted for rotational movement about its longitudinal axis within the bearings 29% and 2il9 provided in the openings of arms 2M and 2115 respectively. A straight worm portion 210 is provided along shaft 206 between the arms 2M and 295 of frame 203 and is adapted to cooperate with a worm gear 217 to operate the tilt rod 218, in a manner to be more fully described.

The left-hand end of shaft ass extends through a suitable opening (not shown) in the left-hand side of head rail 2'01 so as to cooperate with a cord wheel member 212. The cord wheel member 212 is comprised of a substantially cylindrical projection 213 having a suitable opening (not shown) for receiving the left-hand end of shaft 206 so as to provide a force fit therebetween. The left-hand end of cylindrical portion 213 is flanged outwardly to form a roller or pulley portion 214 having a suitable groove 215 extending around the entire periphery of the roller 214. The circular groove 215 is adapted to receive a cord member 216 which is employed to rotate the shaft member 206.

The straight worm 210 is meshed with a worm gear member 217, which gear member 217 is provided with an opening 219 for receiving the tilt rod member 218.

The operation of the tilter mechanism 200 is as follows:

The pull cord 216 which is draped over the circular groove 215 in roller 214 is pulled down on the side which causes the roller to rotate in the direction shown by arrow 220. This in turn, causes the shaft 206 to rotate in the same direction, which rotation is thereby directly imparted to straight worm 210. The rotation of straight worm 211 causes the Worm gear 217 to rotate clockwise, as shown by arrow 221, which clockwise rotation is imparted to the tilt rod member 218. The rotation of tilt rod 218 is imparted to the roller member 20 of the snap-in assembly 10, shown in FIGURES 14 of the drawings, causing operation of the ladder assembly in the same manner as was previously described. For rotation of the tilt rod 218 in the reverse direction, the pull cord 216 is simply pulled downwardly from its opposite side causing rotation of the shaft 206, straight worm 210, worm gear 217 and tilt rod 218 in their reverse directions, thereby causing the slats of the Venetian blind to be tilted or oriented in the reverse direction.

The insertion of the tilter assembly 200 into the head rail member 201 is as follows:

The worm gear 217 is first positioned so that its opening 219 receive tilt rod 218. The frame member 203 is then positioned beneath the upwardly turned flanges 202 and 203 of head rail member 201 and moved upwardly into the open bottom portion of head rail member 201. Frame member 203 is formed of a material which is sufficiently yieldable so that the outwardly turned flanged portions 204a and 205a of arms 204 and 205, respectively, will bend inwardly as the flanges 204a and 205a engage the edges of upwardly turned flanges 202 and 203. As the outwardly turned flanges 204a and 20511 move to a position above the upwardly turned flanges 202 and 203, the arms 204 and 205 then snap outwardly in the directions shown by arrows 222 and 223 respectively. The frame member 203 may then be released so that the bottom edges of flanges 204a and 205a rest within the upper surfaces of the upwardly turned flanges 202 and 203 respectively. It should be understood that the frame member 203 should be positioned so as to be immediately adjacent the worm gear member 217. The straight worm member 210 is then positioned so that it meshes with the teeth 217a of worm gear 217. The straight Worm 210 is held in this position while the shaft 206 is inserted through the openings in the left-hand side of head rail 201, the bearing 208, a suitable opening (not shown) provided in straight worm 210 and bearing 209. The cord wheel assembly 212 is then inserted into the opening provided in the lefthand side of head rail 201.

FIGURE 6a shows an alternative embodiment for the tilter mechanism of FIGURE 6 wherein like elements contain identical numerals to those shown in FIGURE 6. The embodiment of FIGURE 6a differs from that shown in FIGURE 6 in that a pulley, 214', having a smaller diameter than that of the pulley 214, shown in FIGURE 6, is positioned between the arm 204 and the left-hand end of straight worm 210 instead of being positioned in the manner shown in FIGURE 6. The diameter of pulley 214' is smaller than that of the pulley 214 of FIG- URE 6 in order to fit into the area in the manner shown in FIGURE 6a. It can also be noted that the shaft 206 need not be extended substantially beyond the left-hand edge of bearing 208 due to the repositioning of the pulley 214'. The embodiment of FIGURE 6a thereby avoids the need for drilling, or punching, an opening in the lefthand arm of housing 201, thereby facilitating the fabrication of a Venetian blind structure. Another advantage of the embodiment of FIGURE 6a is that the tilter assembly 200 of FIGURE 6a may be installed into the housing 201 without being dismantled previous to the installation therein since the shaft 206 and pulley 214, as shown in FIGURE 6, do not act to prevent the insertion of the fully assembled tilter mechanism 200. Another advantage of tilter assembly 200 is the total concealment of pulley 214' thereby providing a more aesthetic Venetian blind structure. Observation and maintenance of the assembly of FIGURE 6a is also facilitated simply by snapping out the tilter mechanism 200' in much the same manner in which it was snapped in.

In order to provide means for lifting the Venetian blind structure, the snap-in assemblies 10 are constructed so that base member 11 is provided with a pair of elongated slots 14 and 14', along the bottom edge of surfaces 11d and 11e of base member 11. As shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4, only one slot 14 is shown in side 11d.

Referring to FIGURE 5, two snap-in assemblies 10 and 10 are shown schematically, wherein assembly 10 is shown as having slots 14 and 14' in walls 11d and 11a respectively, while snap-in assembly 10' has elongated slots 14" and 14" in walls 11d and 11a respectively. Also, provided in the bottom portion 110 of each base member 11 is a slot 15 which is positioned between the elongated slot 16 and 17. This can best be seen in FIG- URES 4 and 5. A rotatable roller member 18 is posir 8 tioned within the slot 15 and is secured to the shaft 19 which is provided to permit rotation of the roller 18.

The pin, or shaft 19 has a length which is just slightly less than the length of the bottom 110 of base member 11, such that it passes through each of the slots 15, 16 and 17, and is thereby positioned and secured in suitable apertures (not shown) within the base member 11. While the pin 19 is shown to be of the length as portrayed in FIGURE 4, it should be understood that a shorter pin may be used, which is only slightly wider than the width of opening 15, in order to suitably rotatably support roller 18.

A lift cord 32, shown also in FIGURES l, 2 and 4, is provided for raising and lowering the Venetian blind in a manner to be more fully described and is placed in operating position by passing the lift cord 32 in the direction of arrow 89, as shown in FIGURE 1, through the opening 14, over the roller 18, as shown in FIGURE 5, so that the lift cord rides in the groove 18a, provided in roller 18 (see FIGURE 4), and then downward in the direction shown by arrow 91 of FIGURE 1 through the slot 15 so that the lift cord 32 hangs in close proximity to the ladder assembly 40 and substantially parallel to the left and right hand supports 46 and 47 of the ladder assembly.

As shown in FIGURE the lift cord 32 has its bottom end securely fastened to a bottom rail 85 of the Venetian blind assembly at a point 85a. The fastening means for securing lift cord 32 to bottom rail 85 may be any suitable fastening means adapted to secure cord 32 to bottom rail 85.

A second lift cord 32 is provided and is placed in the operating position in the following manner:

Referring to FIGURE 5 the lift cord 32 starting from the right-hand side of FIGURE 5 is moved in the direction shown by arrow 89, first through the opening 14 and then through the opening 14 of snap-in assembly 10. The lift cord 32' is then inserted through the opening 14 in snap-in assembly and over roller 18 in the same manner as described with respect to lift cord 32, then downward through slot in snap-in assembly 10 so that lift cord 32' hangs substantially vertically and parallel to ladder assembly and has its bottom end secured to bottom rail 85 at the point 85b.

This arrangement may be operated with any prior art lifting and lowering mechanism which need only provide operation satisfactorily to concurrently move both lift cords 32 and 32' in the opposing horizontal directions 88 and 89, as shown in FIGURE 5. Assuming that the operating mechanism (not shown) moves both lift cords in a direction of arrow 88, the lift cords slide over their respective rollers 18 and 18, causing the lift cords to move upwardly in the direction shown by arrows 93, which vertical upward movement is imparted to bottom rail 85. This causes all the slats '71 (only three of which have been shown in FIGURE 5) to be collected and moved upwardly under the influence of lift cords 32 and 32 and bottom rail 85, while the ladder assembly substantially becomes accordion pleated causing the entire Venetian blind assembly to be collapsed in a position (not shown) immediately below the lower edges of snap-in assemblies 10 and 10.

When the operating mechanism (not shown) moves the lift cords 32 and 32' in a direction shown by arrow 89, the reverse action takes place; that is, lift cords 32 and 32' move vertically downward in .a direction shown by arrows 94 causing bottom rail 85 to likewise be lowered. Ladder assemblies 40 and 40 move to their fully extended positions, thereby supporting the slats of the Venetian blind assembly so that they are positioned at spaced intervals and substantially parallel to one another.

If it is desired to mount the lifting and lowering mechanism to the left of the snap-in assemblies 10 and 10, this may be done simply by threading the lift cor-ds 32 and 32' exactly opposite from that shown in FIGURE 5 so 9 that -the arrangement is the mirror image of that shown in FIGURE 5. This may be readily done, since the snap-in assemblies 10 and 10 are both provided with suitable openings, 141414", thereby permitting threading therethrough of the lift cords. The snap-in assemblies, as previously mentioned, may be positioned at any distance away from one another in order to accommodate windows of any variety of width dimensions. This can be appreciated from the lift cord 32 and the slats 71, which have been shown by the broken designation 96, and likewise the bottom rail 85 which has been shown in the same manner. The head rail or housing 50, which is provided with two pairs of flanges 60 and 70 permits insertion of the snap-in assemblies at either one of two horizontal levels and, if desired, additional levels may be provided so long as they are spaced apart a distance sufficient to clear the upper ends of the snap-in assemblies, while the notched portions 13 thereof, are properly seated upon one of the desired pair of flanges. It can therefore be seen that this invention provides a snap-in assembly for Venetian blind structures which is light in weight, extremely simple in design, reliable in operation and which is completely adaptable to accommodate windows of any dimensions. In addition, the assembling of such a Venetian blind structure is greatly simplified since no cutting, punching, drilling, or any other efforts are required to mount the snap-in assemblies into the Venetian blind head rail housing 50. The installation, therefore, consists simply of mounting the head rail housing 50 by any suitable means to a position adjacent the upper horizontal end of the window, together with the tilt rod and lift and lower mechanism.

The ladder assemblies are then suitably secured to the roller members of the snap-in assemblies, and the roller members are then easily inserted into their associated base portions. Each snap-in assembly is then very easily slid along the tilt rod to points along the tilt rod, such that they are positioned at a spaced distance desired by the user. The snap-in assemblies are then moved upwardly into the housing so that their parallel notches are received by the cooperating flanges provided in the housing, thereby completing the Venetian blind installation. The remainder of the installation; namely, the installation of the Venetian blind slats and bottom rail extension is then identical with prior art structures, and neither plays a part, nor lends any novelty to the assembly of the instant invention.

FIGURES 8-8c show an alternative arrangement for the snap-in assemblies of FIGURES 1-4 wherein the arrangement 300 of FIGURES 8a-8c is numbered so that identical parts of the arrangement of FIGURE 8 bear the same numbers as identical parts of the snap-in assemblies shown in FIGURES 1-4. The only difference in FIGURE 8 is comprised of the provision of three openings 330, 331 and 332 in the parallel faces of the housing member 310 (FIGURE 8 shows only one such wall, 311, it being understood that the opposing parallel face has three like openings). These cord guide holes 330-332 are provided for receiving the lift cord and any other cords utilized in the Venetian blind structure for control purposes.

The under-side 3110 of the housing member 310, as shown in FIGURE 8, is provided with openings 317, 315 and 3170, in a manner identical to those shown in FIG- URE 4. As the opening 315 receives the lift cord 32,

as shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawings, the housing 310 when formed of a suitable plastic material having a low co'efficient of friction does not require a roller structure such as the roller member 18 shown in FIGURE 4 thereby enabling the lift cord 32 to be inserted through opening 315 without passing the lift cord 32 over a roller member even though the lift cord will frictionally engage the upper or lower edges of opening 315. Since the coefficient of friction of the housing material is low there will be substantially no wear of the lift cord 32.

FIGURE 8b shows an end view of an alternative arrangement for the housing 310, such that the housing 410, shown in FIGURE 8b is provided with tapered projections 4 11 and 412 at its lower ends, which projections are adapted to be seated upon the inner surfaces of upwardly turned flanges in a head rail arrangement such as the head rail arrangement shown in FIGURE 6 of the drawings, which head rail 201 is provided with the flanges 202 and 203. Thus, it can be seen that the tapered projections 411 and 412 will rest upon the inner surfaces of flanges 202 and 203 in a manner substantially identical to the manner in which the outwardly turned flanges 204a and 205a of tilt mechanism 200 rest upon the flanges 202 and 203.

FIGURE 8c shows a slightly modified snap-in housing member 510 which is provided with grooves 511 and 512 on opposite sides of the housing 510, which grooves are adapted to receive the inwardly projecting flanges 60, shown in the head rail of FIGURE 1 of the drawings. The housing member 510 is snapped into the head rail 50 of FIGURE 1 in the same manner as the snap-in assemblies previously described. The lower set of inwardly directed flanges 70 in housing 50 will not be inserted into the grooves 511 and 512 since as the housing member 510 is inserted into the housing, or head rail member 50, the tapered sides of housing 510 urge the downwardly extending arms of head rail member 50 outward such that when the grooves 511 and 512 are opposite the inwardly turned flanges 70, the flanges 70 do not move into grooves 511 and 512 due to the action of tapered sides 513 and 514 which abut flanges thereby keeping the flanges away from grooves 511 and 512. As the housing member 510 moves to a position whereby the flanges 60 are opposite the grooves 511 and 512, these flanges will then snap-in to grooves 511 and 512 thereby locking the snap-in member 510 into the housing 50. With this arrangement the inwardly projecting flanges 70 act as light traps which prevent the entrance into the bottom of head rail extrusion 5% of any reflected light, thereby making it difficult to see the snap-in assembly elements. This gives the Venetian blind structure a more aesthetic appearance. If, however, it is desired to observe the Venetian blind snapin assembly for maintenance or other purposes, this may be done simply directing a light, such .as, for example, a flashlight into the bottom opening of the head rail extrusion 50. A second feature of the inwardly projecting flanges 70 is such that the arrangement, as shown in FIGURE 80, may be employed so as to conceal the slats of the Venetian blind when it is completely drawn upward so that they are substantially invisible to the eye with the Venetian blind structure in this position. This can be seen in FIGURE where the horizontal lines 515 represent the slats of the Venetian blind structure. Thus, when the Venetian blind lift cord is operated so as to draw the Venetian blind slats to their upward rnost position, the flanges 70 act to substantially conceal the entire Venetian blind structure thereby providing a more aesthetic appearance. It should be understood that the inwardly projecting flanges 70 may be positioned at any predetermined distance below the inwardly turned flanges 60 so as to accommodate all of the slats of a Venetian blind of any predetermined height.

FIGURE 7a shows a perspective view of the inverted head rail extrusion 201 shown in FIGURE 6 which is pro vided with the upwardly turned flanges 202 and 203. FIGURE 7b shows a slightly modified embodiment 201 for the head rail extrusion 201 wherein the head rail extrusion 201 of FIGURE 7b may be rolled into the appropriate configuration without providing the substantially sharp right angle corners which are characteristic of the head rail section 201shown in FIGURE 7a.

FIGURE 9 shows a typical assembly for the snap-in housing 310 of FIGURE 6 into a head rail 50 such that like elements in FIGURES 8 and 9 bear like designating numerals. The shoulders 313a of notches 313 in housing 310 are shown seated upon the flanges 60. The ladder assembly, as previously described, is comprised of vertical members 346 and 347 having crosstie members 341 afiixed thereto. The slats 371 rest upon the crosstie members 341 in the same manner as was previously described. Suitable openings (not shown) are provided in slats 371 to receive the lift cord member 332. If it is desired to provide a completely enclosed housing for the snap-in hardware assembly, this is accommodated by the inclusion of the cover slat member 380 which is a substantially thin resilient sheet which may be readily snapped into position so that its left and right-hand edges rest on the upper surfaces of flanges 70 as shown in FIGURE 9. The length of cover slat 80 is determined by the disttance between the two ladder assemblies such that the cover slat completely conceals the entire area between the tape ladder assemblies.

FIGURE shows an alternative embodiment 400 which may be substituted for the housings 10 or 310 shown in FIGURES l and 8 respectively. The housing 400 is formed of a substantially resilient material and is provided with first and second slots 401 and 402 which run substantially perpendicular to the under-side 403 of the housing 400. The sides 404 and 405 of housing 400 are slightly tapered to facilitate insertion into a housing such as the housing 50, shown in FIGURE 1, which arrangement was described previously with references to the snap-in housings 10 and 310, shown in FIGURES 1 and 8 respectively. The elongated slots 401 and 402 replace the elongated notches 13 of the housing 10 of FIG- URE 1 by enabling the lower ends 404a and 405a of sides 404 and 405, respectively, to be bent inwardly in the directions shown by arrows 406 and 407 respectively, during the insertion of the housing member 400 into the inverted housing member 50 of FIGURE 2. As soon as the housing member 400 clears the flanges 60 of the inverted housing 50, the lower ends 404a and 405a of sides 404 and 405 return to their original shape, due to the inherent resiliency, causing the lower edges 409 and 410 of sides 404 and 405, respectively, to rest upon the upper surfaces of the flanges 60 in housing 50. Thus, it can be seen that the slots 401 and 402, by providing a resiliency to housing sides 404-405, performs the function of the notches 13 of housing 10, shown in FIGURE 1, thereby enabling the housing 400 to be properly positioned and secured in the inverted housing 50. The remaining functions and structures of housing 400 are identical to the housings 10 and 310 of FIGURES 1 and 8, respectively, and for this reason a detailed description has been omitted.

The simplicity in design, fabrication, and installation of the snap-in assemblies permits them to be fabricated of virtually any type of material. However, it has been found that very satisfactory snap-in assemblies are achieved when forming the assemblies from plastic materials such as Lustran, Lurex, or any other similar materials. If it is desired, however, the snap-in assembly may further be formed of metal or possibly even wood, if so desired, without any loss in the operating characteristics of the snap-in assembly.

Although there has been described a preferred embodL ment of this novel invention, many variations and modifications will now be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is to be limited, not by the specific' disclosures herein, but only by the appending claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An assembly for use in Venetian blind structures having a housing with a pair of spaced generally vertical walls defining a downwardly facing opening for the Venetian blind operating mechanisms, and ladder means for supporting'Venetian blind slats, comprising:

(a) snap-in means slidably retained in said housing for supporting and controlling said ladder means, including (i) a body portion defining an interior cavity, a

pair of opposed walls of said body portion having lower parallel portions and upper converging portions, and detent means associated with each of said lower body wall portions and extending the length thereof,

(ii) roller means retained for rotation within said interior cavity and connected to said ladder means, rotation of said roller means being adapted to wind and unwind opposed sides of said ladder means, thereby to cause selective tilting thereof;

(b) a pair of inwardly directed flanges extending along opposed lower portions of said housing vertical walls, said flanges being proportioned and spaced apart sufiicient to be spread apart by said upper converging portions of said body portion and to enter and be slidably retained within said detent means in said lower parallel body wall portions.

2. An assembly according to claim 11, further wherein said detent means comprise slots.

3. An assembly according to claim 1, further wherein said detent means comprise a slot in each said parallel wall portion; wherein said housing includes a pair of parallel inwardly directed flanges extending along opposed lower portions of each of said housing vertical walls; and wherein said upper converging portions of said body portion are adapted to engage and spread apart the housing vertical walls by driving apart the upper ones of each of said pair of flanges sufficient to allow said slots to pass the lower ones of each of said pair of flanges and be received within the upper ones, said lower ones thereby forming a light screen to obscure the interior parts within said housing against background light and to receive the Venetian blind when raised.

4. An assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a rod running through said roller means, being rotationally fixed and axially slidable therein; and further comprising tilter means engaged with said rod, being rotationally fixed and axially slidable thereon, including a tilter body portion having opposed detent means for snapin engagement with said housing flanges for slidable movement therealong, a gear concentric with said rod for rotation therewith, and a second gear engaged with said gear for driving said rod through said gear.

5. An assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a rod running through said roller means, being rotationally fixed and axially slidable therein; and further comprising tilter means engaged with said rod, being rotationally fixed and axially slidable thereon, including a tilter body portion having opposed detent means for snap-in engagement with said housing flanges for slidable movement therealong, a gear concentric with said rod for rotation therewith, and a worm engaged with said gear for driving said rod through said gear.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,580,253 12/1951 Stuber et al. 176 2,614,625 10/1952 DiIenno 160-176 2,620,866 12/1952 Rosenbaum 160-177 2,620,868 12/1952 Rosenbaum 160--l77 2,837,152 6/1958 Moore 160176 X FOREIGN PATENTS 158,259 3/ 1957 Sweden.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. P. M. AUN Asr r am Examin 

1. AN ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN VENETIAN BLIND STRUCTURES HAVING A HOUSING WITH A PAIR OF SPACED GENERALLY VERTICAL WALLS DEFINING A DOWNWARDLY FACING OPENING FOR THE VENETIAN BLIND OPERATING MECHANISMS, AND LADDER MEANS FOR SUPPORTING VENETIAN BLIND SLATS, COMPRISING: (A) SNAP-IN MEANS SLIDABLY RETAINED IN SAID HOUSING FOR SUPPORTING AND CONTROLLING SAID LADDER MEANS, INCLUDING (I) A BODY PORTION DEFINING AN INTERIOR CAVITY, A PAIR OF OPPOSED WALLS OF SAID BODY PORTION HAVING LOWER PARALLEL PORTIONS AND UPPER CONVERGING PORTIONS, AND DETENT MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF SAID LOWER BODY WALL PORTIONS AND EXTENDING THE LENGTH THEREOF, (II) ROLLER MEANS RETAINED FOR ROTATION WITHIN SAID INTERIOR CAVITY AND CONNECTED TO SAID LADDER MEANS, ROTATION OF SAID ROLLER MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO WIND AND UNWIND OPPOSED SIDES OF SAID LADDER MEANS, THEREBY TO CAUSE SELECTIVE TILTING THEREOF; (B) A PAIR OF INWARDLY DIRECTED FLANGES EXTENDING ALONG OPPOSED LOWER PORTIONS OF SAID HOUSING VERTICAL WALLS, SAID FLANGES BEING PROPORTIONED AND SPACED APART SUFFICIENT TO BE SPREAD APART BY SAID UPPER CONVERGING PORTIONS OF SAID BODY PORTION AND TO ENTER AND BE SLIDABLY RETAINED WITHIN SAID DETENT MEANS IN SAID LOWER PARALLEL BODY WALL PORTIONS. 